A new type of mammogram is available in Pittsburgh. The 3-D technology called tomosynthesis captures images of breast tissue layer by layer.

A new type of mammogram is available in Pittsburgh. The 3-D technology called tomosynthesis captures images of breast tissue layer by layer.

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Updated: 6:18 PM EDT Mar 25, 2014

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WEBVTT WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. A NEW TYPE OF MAMMOGRAM IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE IN PITTSBURGH, AND DOCTORS SAY IT CAN BE A LIFE-SAVER BY CATCHING BREAST CANCER SOONER. "PITTSBURGH'S ACTION NEWS 4" ANCHOR MICHELLE WRIGHT SHARES ONE WOMAN'S STORY AND HOW THIS TECHNOLOGY FOUND A CANCER THAT A REGULAR MAMMOGRAM DID NOT DETECT. Reporter: THE STATISTIC HASN'T CHANGED IN A WHILE -- ONE IN EIGHT WOMEN WILL GET BREAST CANCER. WHILE RESEARCHERS WORK TO IMPROVE THAT, SOME NEW TECHNOLOGY NOW AVAILABLE IN PITTSBURGH IS HOPING TO CATCH THOSE CANCERS MUCH SOONER. TAKE A BREATH. Reporter: AS SHE GOT HER MAMMOGRAM, CAROL ZISKOVIC WAS WORRIED ABOUT BREAST CANCER, BECAUSE IT RUNS IN HER FAMILY. WHEN SHE HAD THE OPTION OF USING NEW 3D TECHNOLOGY, TOMOSYNTHESIS, SHE GLADLY PAID THE EXTRA $50 TO TRY IT. WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE RIGHT IN THIS AREA AN ABNORMAL AREA THAT SHOWS SOME PUCKERING, AND THAT'S WHERE THERE'S AN ABNORMALITY. Reporter: THAT ABNORMALITY TURNED OUT TO BE CANCER. DR. THOMAS CHANG AT WEINSTEIN IMAGING SAYS THAT TUMOR COULD NOT BE SEEN ON CAROL'S REGULAR MAMMOGRAM IMAGE. SO, WHEN I TURNED ON THE 3D ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE, I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY HOW MUCH IT SHOWED. Reporter: HE BELIEVES A REGULAR MAMMOGRAM WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY SPOTTED IT, BUT IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN A YEAR OR MORE. THE 3D IMAGE FOUND IT BY LOOKING AT THE TISSUE LAYER BY LAYER. IMPORTANT, AND I TELL EVERYBODY THAT, NUMBER ONE, GET THEM, AND NUMBER TWO, MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO DO THE 3D IMAGING. Reporter: BECAUSE YOU THINK IT MADE A DIFFERENCE. ABSOLUTELY. Reporter: DO YOU THINK IT SAVED YOUR LIFE? I THINK IT ABSOLUTELY DID. Reporter: THE CEO OF SUSAN G. KOMEN PITTSBURGH, KATHY PURCELL, WELCOMES THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY. WELL, I THINK IT'S EXCITING. IT'S ONE OF, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING NEW. SO, I THINK THAT THE 3D TECHNOLOGY ADDS TO WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO SEE. Reporter: BECAUSE MORE X-RAYS ARE TAKEN, TOMOSYNTHESIS GIVES A SLIGHTLY HIGHER DOSE OF RADIATION THAN MAMMOGRAPHY, BUT WELL WITHIN THE FDA GUIDELINES. I SEE THE 3D MAMMOGRAM AS A BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY. Reporter: HE SHOWED ME THE DIFFERENCE IN CAROL'S MAMMOGRAMS. SO, AND ACTUALLY, RIGHT IN HERE IS WHERE THERE IS A CANCER, BECAUSE THIS IS PUCKERED TISSUE. Reporter: WHAT CAN YOU SEE WHEN YOU GO BACK TO THE REGULAR MAMMOGRAM? OKAY, SO, WHEN WE GO BACK TO THE REGULAR MAMMOGRAM, THIS IS THE AREA WHERE THE CANCER IS, BUT IT'S REALLY HIDDEN BY THE TISSUE THAT'S OVERLYING IT, ABOVE AND BELOW IT. Reporter: HE SAID BY DETECTING CANCERS EARLIER, IT'S MORE CURABLE AND ALLOWS WOMEN TO HAVE LESS INVASIVE TREATMENT. CAROL UNDERWENT A MASTECTOMY, BUT THE CANCER WAS CAUGHT EARLY ENOUGH THAT SHE DIDN'T NEED RADIATION OR CHEMOTHERAPY. THE FDA APPROVED THIS DEVICE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, BUT WITH THE EQUIPMENT COSTING FOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS REGULAR MAMMOGRAM TECHNOLOGY, COUPLED WITH THE FACT THAT MOST INSURANCE PLANS DO NOT COVER IT, FEW PLACES

Tomosynthesis gives doctors clearer view with 3-D mammography

A new type of mammogram is available in Pittsburgh. The 3-D technology called tomosynthesis captures images of breast tissue layer by layer.